Anybody else up yet?

JessM I had the same thoughts as well,its great having so many new girls posting though,we have had quite a few new babie's this past month or so (lucky nana's) maybe they are all out and about cuddling their new DGCs and not spending as much time as usual on line.

The winds are blowing and cracking their cheeks today but I'm off out to Loch Tay and Aberfeldy – chumming a pal who is taking her mad eighteen-year-old son there to do some kayaking. We will do some exploring of our own.

Enjoy your day bagitha and don't get blown away......

Baggy enjoy your day - we were there last sunday - beautiful. Hope the wind subsides by the time you get there - it's pretty hairy here too

Yes it does sound windy out there. I am in the west midlands looking after MIL this weekend. Planning to scoot off and visit Walsall Art Gallery later. It is really rather good and I haven't been there for several years. It houses a collection of Epsteins that were donated by his widow. And they tend to have good modern art exhibitions. But for the meantime I am snuggled up waiting for the house to warm up. Makes me realise the difference between an averagely insulated 12 year old bungalow and our newer and better insulated house. Ours retains some heat overnight but this doesn't.

Slept like a log! Mind you, we were out last night so maybe the or two helped. Bit breezy here but the sky is brightening..

Hardly any wind here on the soft south coast.
Two grandsons coming for a sleepover later and they want to make model boats. We made some out of old Christmas cards yesterday after school, but the card eventually softened and sank. So I've been looking online for places to buy balsa wood. Just waiting for a couple of shops to open so I can phone and check.
Hope everyone has a peaceful weekend!

Windy here too, off to Glastonbury soon, not as an ageing hippy tho'

jessm I remember that gallery. I used to live in park rd in Walsall. I left thirty four years ago. I expect it has changed a lot.

I was up on the top of the South Downs yesterday notso and nearly got blown away there, very surprised as there was no wind 10 miles or so away

Anyone ever go to Walsall Illuminations? Or Dudley Zoo?

Dudley zoo! Oh yes I remember it well!and the illuminatTions in the arboretum! Did you hear about the council meeting where it wasdecidedto get a gondola for the boating lake? On hearing this councillor Eli got up and proved a pair of them "then we can breed them!"

That's Walsall for you! I've only driven past the Illuminations, but always wanted to go [I've been to Matlock Illuminations]. Most of my photos of childhood seem to be me, my mum, dad and aunty [who came everywhere with us] at 'Dudlai' Zoo. Went to a lovely play years back by [and starring] Malcolm Stent called 'Go and Play Up Your Own End' all about a Brummie/Black Country childhood.

Well I've put the dishwasher on, stated a loaf, read my files for monday. All I have to do now is wait for the kids to arrive!

Not that gallery Jeni. This is a beautiful new one (about 10 yrs old) at the opposite end of the high street to the church.
It is absolutely wonderful. Epstein's first bust of his lover, started after their first night together brought tears to my eyes as I walked in. Stunning bust of TS Eliot. Braque's flying birds made me want to stand tall.
It is mainly the collection of his family which is quite extensive.

the "arboretum" cracks me up, anywhere else it would be a victorian park. I was very disappointed when i went there.
Just had a bit of a black country accent seminar with uncle cyril.
It is hectic here MIL is only here at weekends and there is a stream of visitors.
Gusty blustery westerly here, just like the seaside. A reminder that we are an island in the Atlantic. Like when we get salt spray in the middle of the country.
Saw a single swan, battling to fly in it.

JessM DO NOT belittle the blackcounyry the people are great. They have a lovely sense of humour that is unique! They are warm friendly and gorgeous!
I miss them _

I think us Midlanders have a rather black sense of humour. I only realised it after I'd left.

I am getting ready for the five hour drive back to Adelaide for GD's fourth birthday. Yesterday it was GS's fourth birthday so I finally got to spend it with him on the day. I will be in Adelaide for a week then I am off to Brisbane for youngest GS's fourth birthday. The day before his birthday is my eldest GD's seventh birthday but as she is in Adelaide I will miss hers. I will also miss eldest GS's sixth birthday as I will have left Brisbane by then and his is not until the 25th March. One month and two days between five of six grandchildren just after Christmas is a lot.

My foot is still slightly swollen and still hurts when I walk (hobble), I think it is arthritis not a spider bite. I will go to the doctors in Adelaide and get it checked out. I think a change of diet and no white flour, preservatives etc etc etc. I don't want to take tablets so hopefully I can get it sorted. I do notice if I am careful with what I eat I have no pain at all, but the last few weeks I have it in my hands, both feet, in my shoulders and my back near my ribs hurts. I think I am falling apart.

Good morning, all!

Faye yes, do get it checked out; it sounds painful and feet in particular can be agonising. One of the many things I've learned from talking to people on GN is that, if you need painkillers for arthritis, then take them! Take care.

Sorry jeni not meaning to belittle. Am very fond of my ILs who come from there and was only this weekend telling aunty E that it was a pity to tell off her husband when he used dialect. (she thinks it's common, I think it is lovely)
I drove past the motorway junction to the Arboretum for years and thought it was going to be something like Westonbirt or the Kennedy Arboretum near Wexford. Eventually got there. Big let down. No idea why it is called an arboretum but all I meant was that anywhere else in Britain it would only claim to be a smallish Victorian Park. So the same phrase would apply if they claimed to have an arboretum in kent or cheshire.
Pretty sobering to go into the centre of Walsall yesterday morning. I thought we should set off extra early for a 9.15 appointment. Not a bit of it. There is no rush hour in the borough of Walsall. Reflects what they were saying on the news yesterday about the difference in employment etc between where I live (MK) and places like Walsall.

Nothing beats that first shot of steaming coffee first thing in the morning.
A frosty morning,a pink sky, so off out for a tramp around the lanes....

I am still not sleeping well, possibly partly through jetlag, although that didn't bother me in either direction in March. I wake several times in the night, thinking about my poor daughter in England, and I just got up at 5 a.m and made a cup of tea. I will probably drop off during 'Countdown'.
I keep writing letters to her in my head, but I know it would be useless to send them. It is almost impossible to shake paranoid delusions, although sometimes the sufferer will pretend to agree if you confront them, but the belief remains with them.
I have had no contact with her since I got her letter almost two months ago, accusing me of stealing from her. Her daughter is still my Facebook friend and her eldest son has not unfriended me, so I think they do realise how wrong she is, but they are afraid to confront her.
I do make a positive effort to think of other things, or read, but I know she must be very sad and that is what really upsets me.
It is her birthday next week, so I am just going to send her the usual card saying I hope she has a good day and I love her very much.

I'm sorry to hear that greatnan - and it sounds as if all your travelling and not sleeping well has caught up with you and that you're probably exhausted.
You say you write letters in your head. Might it be useful to write in a journal all your thoughts and feelings?
Anniversary are especially tough, and I think your decision to send a card etc. is very good, as it continues to keep the lines of communication open......I'm sure you know all this. Anyway, all the best

Good morning Greatnan, that sleep thing can take ten days or so after travelling. I think it is easier to adapt if they days are longer and sunnier.
It is hard not to get down sometimes when awake in the small hours isn't it. No distraction and less control over where you brain wanders to.
I'm sure your grandchildren know that you have not done anything wrong. It must be very difficult for them as young adults to cope with a mother who is mentally ill. I find youngish people often respond to messages sent through facebook messaging, (not posting on their wall, but the private message function on the LHS) even if they don't respond to normal channells. Have you tried sending them supportive messages by that route.
Hope you have a nice day. It rained last night and then froze so I am glad I don't have to venture out to work on glassy roads.